Artificial fish lure and method of making the same



4, 1 51 E. A. EBERT 2,563,825

ARTIFICIAL FISH LURE AND METHODOF MAKING THE SAME Filed June 24, 1947INVENTOIR Patented Aug. 14, 1951 ARTIFICIAL FiSH LURE AND METHOD OFMAKING THE SAME Edward A. Ebert, Snyder, N. Y. 7

Application June 24, 1947, Serial No. 756,629

4 Claims.

This invention relates to artificial fish lures and method of making thesame, and more particularly to an improved lure which is impaled uponafish hook in the same manner as pork rind is used.

Natural pork rind has some objectionable features, such as being greasy,which causes it to pick up dirt while being used, causing a graying ofits natural White color and making it less efiicient in attracting fish.Also pork rind is put up in jars in a solution of brine which becomessmelly and sooner or later corrodes through the cover of the jar andgets into the tackle box and causes rusting of metal parts which itcontacts. Pork rind must also always be kept moist. If left on the hookand permitted to dry in the sun, it becomes dark and hard, necessitatingits removal and application of a new rind for further fishing.

According to my invention I have provided a fish lure which overcomesall the above objections and which embodies certain advantages overprior lures.

Among the objects of my invention may be mentioned the following:

To provide a lure having a more life-like action and appearance thanpork rind.

To provide a lure for which no preservative or container is necessaryand which can be used over and over again.

To provide a lure which stays clean when in use and is not materiallyalTected by sunlight, oil, salt water, etc.

To provide a lure which can easily be made in many attractive colorcombinations.

To provide a lure which is readily attachable to and detachable from ahook without extra parts other than the lure itself.

To provide a lure and method of making the same which is simple inconstruction and oper ation and low in cost.

To provide a lure which may be left on a fish hook indefinitely withoutill effect to either the lure or the hook.

The features of novelty which I believe to be characteristic of myinvention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. Myinvention itself, however, both as to its fundamental principles and asto its particular embodiments, will best be understood by reference tothe specification and accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a lure embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a section thereof, on line 2-2, Fig. 1, showing the lureimpaled on afish hook, shown in broken lines.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary enlarged section thereof, similar'to Fig. 2,showing how the laminatitans-tend to separate.

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of another lure hav ing a different method ofattachment to a fish hook.

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the form of invention shown in Fig. 4.

The form of the invention illustrated in the first three Figures 1, 2and 3, comprises a lami nated body, generally indicated by the numeral10 comprising'p'lies ll preferably made of thin polyvinyl plastic sheetmaterial because of its toughness and thermoplastic qualities, but othersimilar materials such as rubber might be used. Materials such as Kreneand Saran have been used successfully. The plastic known as Krene is avinyl chloride-acetate copolymer while Saran is a thermoplastic,vinylidene chic ride.

At their head end l2 the many plies are pressed together under heat sothat they fuse together and become one integral mass. One or two,preferably two, slits l3 are provided in this head end [2 for theinsertion of a fish hook l4, shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2. Eithersingle or double hooking may be used,-or if one of the slits [3 shouldbe torn out, the other is still available.

Hooking is accomplished by merely inserting a hook in one of the slits.Detachament is accomplished easily, only when the slit I3 is in linewith the barb of the hook and the material is slightly stretched in thedirection of the barb, the tail or trailing end may have one or morecuts IT to break up this end into many trails [8. If eight plies l l areused and two cuts 11 are made in the tail it, the lure would havetwenty-four ribbons on trails I3. I prefer to out these trails [8 in awavy pattern as shown in Fig. 1, for the reason that this wavy formgives the impression of motion and much greater action or movement ofthe trails is obtained when the lure is drawn through the water. Thislure, if attached to an artificial bait or spoon is given additionalaction by movements of the artificial bait.

In Fig. 3, the plies H are shown to separate or fan out from the headend l2. This is caused by the reduction in thickness of the head end l2when it is subjected to heat and pressure when the plies II are beingwelded togethen This separation is desirable to permit water to get be-'tween the plies H for more showy action when the lure is in use.

Although Figs. 1 and 2 show the lure and its trails 13 in a more or lessmechanical parallelism 3 hugging action of the edges of the slits 13 onthe sides of the hook.

The form of the invention shown in Figs. 4 and 5 is similar to the formjust described except that the trails I8 are cut straight and adifferent form of head I2 is employed. A loop 20 is provided formounting the lure on the hook I4,

I shown in broken lines in Fig. 4. This is made by folding thelaminations l I double and then heat- "sealing a portion 22 back a shortdistance from the head end to provide the proper size of loop 20.

Although the trails in this form of the invention in Figs. 4 and arestraight, as mentioned before, the trails fan out when in use, and thislure is effective in catching fish.

In Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the plies ll lie in planes substantially at rightangles to the hook l4, i. e., the plies are horizontal when the hook isvertical. In Figs. 4 and 5, both the plies II and the hook l4 lie insubstantially the same plane.v Thus if the spoon or plug mounting thehook l4 wiggles from side to side horizontally, much greater action ofthe form shown in Figs. 1 to 3 will result, since the plies II are thencaused to cut through the water edgewise which tends to separate theplies and make them flutter. If the hook 14 in Fig. 4 wobbles verticallyup and down greater action will be caused in this lure.

Comparative tests were made with this lure and with the regular naturalpork rind and more strikes were gotten with this lure, probably becauseit was used in color combinations while the pork rind was natural color.Also it was found that there was no tendency for this material to pickup foreign matter, such as mud, etc., and become discolored like thenatural pork rind does.

Many pleasing color combinations may be had "bythe inclusion of one ormore plies ll of a dif-.

ferent color before the heat-sealing of the head end l2.

. I have found that a very simple way to make the above lure is todouble over several plies of thermo-plastic material and heat-seal themat their head end l2 and then slice oiT the lures as shown in Fig. 4, orcut off with a die, units such as shown in Fig. 1, the die also makingthe slits [3 in its one movement. By cutting or shearing the lures fromlong strips of material, it is possible to produce them at reasonablecost.

. In the specification I have explained the principles of my inventionand the best mode in which I have contemplated applying thoseprinciples, so as to distinguish my invention from other inventions; andI have particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed the part,improvement, or combination which I claim as my invention or discovery.

While I have shown and described certain preferred embodiments of myinvention and preferred method of making the same, it will be understoodthat modifications and changes may be made without departing from thespirit and scope thereof, as will be clear to those skilled in the art.

I claim as myxinvention:

1. A lure for attachment to a fish hook, comprising a plurality ofsubstantially identical elongated fiat strips of flexible plasticmaterial arranged face to face in register with one another,

said strips having their opposite faces united at one end of the lure toprovide an integral unitary head and a plurality of free railsprojecting outwardly from said head, and said head being provided with athrough opening extending transversely of said faces and adapted toreceive said fishhook.

2. A lure for use with a fish hook, comprising a plurality ofsubstantially identical elongated fiat strips of flexible thermoplasticmaterial arranged face to face in register with each other and each ofsaid strips having wavy longitudinal edges and a head end and a tailend, a fusion connection uniting the opposing faces of said head endsonly of said strips to provide an integral homogeneous head end, andsaid tail ends being provided with spaced wavy longitudinal cutsextending from the free extremities thereof substantially to said headto provide a multiplicity of trails having undulating edges streamingfrom said integral homogeneous head and free for individual transversedarting and twisting movement when the lure is drawn by said headthrough Water.

3. A lure for use with a fish hook, comprising a plurality ofsubstantially identical elongated fiat strips of flexible thermoplasticmaterial arranged,

lure is drawn by said head through water, and

said head being provided with a through slit extending transversely ofsaid faces and lengthwise of said strips for attachment of the lure tosaid fish hook.

4. The method of making lures for use with fish hooks, which comprisesarranging a group of sheets of flexible thermoplastic material inface toface relation, applying heat and pressure to opposite faces of saidgroup of sheets along a restricted area thereof to provide a body inwhich all of said sheets are thermally bonded along .said area toprovide an integral homogeneous head section from which the unbondedareas of said sheets extend as separate plies, and cutting said group ofsheets transversely of said area from the free edges of said plies tosaid thermally bonded area and at intervals through said thermallybonded area to provide a plurality of individual lures each having anintegral, homogeneous, fused head section and a multiplicity of trailsstreaming from said head free for indi-' vidual movement when the lureis drawn by said head through water.

EDWARD A. EBERT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Certificate of Correction Patent No. 2,563,825August 14, 1951 EDWARD A. EBERT It is hereby certified that errorappears in the printed specification of the above numbered patentrequirlng correction as follows:

Column 2, line 35, for on read 00"; column 3, line 71, for rails readtrails;

and that the said Letters Patent should be read as corrected above, sothat the same may conform to the record of the case in the PatentO-flice.

Signed and sealed this 16th day of October, A. D. 1951 THOMAS F. MURPHY,

Assistant Commissioner of Patents.

